1. Field of the Invention
The invention described below relates to a coin receiving mechanism for use with coin or token activated machines such as, for example, vending machines and coin changing machines. The invention is particularly useful in pay telephones.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A major problem associated with coin receiving mechanisms used in pay telephones, vending machines, change machines and the like is their susceptibility to being intentionally jammed by a thief intent on stealing subsequently deposited coins. The thief stuffs paper, cloth, or other foreign objects into the coin deposit chute which blocks the coin acceptor/counter device associated with a coin receiving mechanism. After setting his trap, the thief waits until one or more paying customers have deposited coins in the coin deposit chute blocked by the foreign objects. Since the deposited coins are blocked by the foreign objects, these coins cannot be retrieved by operating the coin release lever or tapping on the coin activated machine. After the paying customer leaves, the thief returns to complete the theft by attempting to fish out the coins stuck in the coin deposit chute with a wire, comb or other instrument. In fishing out the coins, the thief often will cause further jamming and/or damage to the coin receiving mechanism and the coin acceptor/counter device. Typically, the thief will leave the foreign objects in the coin receiving mechanism, resulting in an ongoing loss of sales from the machine and requiring repair personnel to make a service call to remove the blockage. Such illegal activity not only inconveniences and upsets honest customers of the coin operated machine, but also results in substantial economic loss to the owners and operators of coin operated machines by way of loss sales and higher repair costs.
Several attempts have been made to overcome the above identified problem, but most have met with limited success. U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,706 (issued to Wollet) teaches a mechanism with a metal plate which blocks the coin deposit slot of the coin activated machine if foreign objects are stuffed between the wall of the coin chute, and thereby prevents the additional foreign objects and/or coins from being deposited. However, the Wollet device does not provide any feature which would allow the customer to clear the blockage. With the Wollet device, once the coin chute is stuffed with foreign objects, a metal plate shuts the coin deposit slot of the coin activated machine, thereby blocking further access to the coin deposit chute and rendering the coin activated machine inoperative. Although later customers are prevented from losing their coins to thieves, sales are lost until service personnel make a service call to clear the machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,090 (issued to Ramseier) discloses a coin receiving mechanism having separable coin guide walls which define a coin track having sections arranged in a zigzag form. While the Ramseier device purportedly has a feature to allow unblocking of the coin chute path, one of the walls, which is set at a steep angle to the vertical, does not move and thus it cannot "kick" debris out of the coin path. Thus, the Ramseier device can require at least several operations to clear paper jams.
A very successful attempt to overcome the problem created by foreign objects being jammed into the coin chute is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,673 issued to Wu (hereinafter the '673 patent). The present invention is an improvement of the coin receiving mechanism having a foreign object release device disclosed in the '673 patent, and the entire specification and drawings of the '673 patent are incorporated herein by reference.
The device disclosed in the '673 patent includes separable coin chute walls defining a coin chute path, which when separated by turning the coin return lever on the coin operated device, for example, cause objects lodged between the coin chute walls to be ejected, thereby clearing foreign objects from the coin chute path and the coin acceptor/counter device.
When the coin chute path of the device disclosed in the '673 patent is stuffed with paper or other foreign objects, thereby blocking the coin chute path through which a coin normally travels, the coin activated machine will not operate. The paying customer will invariably turn the coin return lever on the coin activated machine, thereby separating the coin chute walls and ejecting the foreign objects to clear the coin chute path. Turning the coin return lever turns a drive arm, which then rotates a cam member coupled to the two walls of the coin chute by drive arms, causing the walls to separate at their bottom portion. One of the walls swings out wider than the other, thereby flipping and ejecting any foreign objects and coins previously jammed therebetween into a waste receiver. Thereafter, when the coin release lever is released, the two walls of the coin chute spring back to their inactivated position of being parallel in a vertical plane, free from any blockage and immediately available for use. The coin release mechanism of the '673 patent may also include a coin shutter with a coin slot passing therethrough. The coin shutter moves to block the coin accepting slot on the outside of the machine when the coin release lever is activated and/or the walls of the coin chute are spread apart because of the presence of foreign objects or tools inserted therebetween, thereby preventing further jamming of foreign articles therein and further loss of coins by a paying customer.
In a preferred embodiment of the device of the '673 patent, the walls of the coin chute path are manufactured with several planar sections, each arranged in a zig-zagged orientation in one direction with respect to each other. At least one planar section is arranged at an angle offset from the direction of the zig-zagged sections. This zig-zagged and turned arrangement of planar sections helps prevent a wire or other instrument from being inserted very far down into the coin path defined by the walls. The inside of the wall sections preferably have parallel grooves and ribs defined thereon in the same direction of coin travel. These grooves and ribs help prevent wet coins from sticking in the coin chute path, and also help prevent a wire or other instrument from being inserted into the mechanism and negotiated through the space between the zigzagged and angled wall sections, to the end of the sections. Groups of groove blocks are preferably located at various positions in the grooves between the ribs on the inside of the coin chute walls, which groove blocks help to catch on inserted wires or tools, thereby further frustrating attempts by the thief to push foreign objects into the coin chute path.